Laois flood victim fears repeat Mountmellick disaster

A Laois woman whose husband died months after the disastrous Mountmellick flood five years ago, is still living in fear of a repeat flood.

Widow Cheryl Keenan from Manor Road, is pleading with Laois County Council for urgent work to improve drainage around her house.

Only a week ago, the drains overflowed but with continued heavy rains this week, Cheryl is in constant anxiety.

Her late husband of 27 years, retired soldier Donal Keenan, had died while the couple were still living in emergency accommodation.

A well known local figure, Donal who served 43 years as a chef in the Curragh Camp, had campaigned nationally for many years for information to find his niece Imelda Keenan, missing since 1994. 

On that unforgettable day of November 22 2017, the flood water entered their bungalow, destroying everything in its path.

“The water literally came up under the floors, under the doors, it was a foot deep in all the rooms. Everything had to go, floors, furniture, clothes. 

“Donal wouldn’t leave that day, but we got boated out.  That day he had an appointment to discuss surgery plans for stoma. Sadly he was unable to get there so his appointment was put back to January.

“We spent a month in a hotel and we got a place to live in College Avenue on Christmas Eve. I was grateful to Vincent de Paul who assisted me with fuel expenses,” she said.

Cheryl believes the upset of seeing his family home ruined by the floods, speeded up Donal’s death as he awaited surgery.

“I watched him go to skin and bone. It was like he had lost interest,” she said.

Donal died whilst undergoing emergency surgery in February 2018. 

“I was left with the responsibility to get my home sorted out and restored so we could move back in by April as the council had told me they would not accept responsibility for us to continue living in College Avenue,” she said.

She spent all of the money received from his army pension to renovate and protect their home so she and their two daughters could move back in. 

Five years on, with no insurance company willing to cover the home, and no money left, Cheryl is watching the rising waters in the drains outside her gate with dread. A repeat flood will leave her and her family homeless with no more money for repairs. 

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Speaking to the Leinster Express / Laois Live at her home, she said it has affected her mental health.

“I suffer with anxiety and depression since the flood, I’m seeing a psychologist now. I’m watching the weather forecast all the time. 

“I’m watching all the time. If it rains heavy for two days, it rises fast. It takes me nearly four hours to put out the sandbags if I’m on my own. I’m very stressed. 

“I contacted the council when it broke its banks on October 28 and they said all they could do was give me 20 sandbags. I’m angry. 

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“It's terrible knowing you're living on a knife edge watching every time we have a heavy rainfall. Am I going to lose my home again or how many sandbags do I need to drag out to hold the water back.

“It's not fair and it certainly is not right that we should live in this fear throughout the winter. I have done everything I can to protect my family, built walls around my home and concreted my yard," Cheryl said.

She describes what she believes could be done to minimise flood risk.

“The council put in pipes and widened drains but now the flood starts closer to my house instead of down the road. I want the drain across the road from the house to be enlarged. The drain on my side has clogged up, there is nowhere for the water to flow.

“I want the council to do as much as they can to release this water and stop it getting into our house. I put too much in to lose it. We wouldn’t stand a chance now,” Cheryl said.